Wanna Be Immortal?
by Venelope Von Schweets
Summary: Mordecai and Zer0 were saved by a mysterious woman who goes by One. Zer0's upset by her presence, Mordecai's confused on why she's helping them, and the others are wondering what her good nature's about.
1. Chapter 1

She hovered over him, her fingers barely skimming the surface of his wounds. His breathing was steady, but she didn't know if it would last. She blinked slowly before sitting on her heels. The sun was setting low and quick. She needed to get him inside. She carefully snaked her arms under his and hauled him to his feet. One arm held his torso tight while the other held the back of knees. She carried him to her Technical, her boots crunching against the sand.

He stirred one she placed him in the back and she stilled. He settled and she moved on to see what was left of the flaming bits of what was once another Technical. She could see another lying underneath a sheet of tarnished metal. She carefully pried to metal away and saw the red zero painted on his chest. A mixture of emotions sprung up on her and she couldn't stop herself from swearing profoundly. Just as carefully as she was with the Hunter, she moved the Assassin out from the wreckage and onto the back of her Technical.

~x~x~x~x~x~

She was sowing the holes in their clothes when the Hunter woke. Every inch of his body ached and his head pounded to the tempo of his pulse. He turned his head slowly and saw her, her back to him and humming a quiet melody. He wanted to swing his legs over the edge of his cot, but the slightest movement caused pain to flair up. He groaned and laid his head back on the pillow.

"How bad is it?" She asked. She wore a black ribbon mask that covered her eyes. What he could tell was how her eyes were shaded, as if they were a mixture of different colors.

"Bad." Was all he could choke out. She smiled warmly before placing a cool hand on his forehead.

"I'll get something for the pain." She said as she turned on her heel and left him alone in a light silence. He could hear Zer0 breathing a few feet away from him. The girl returned with a cup that had steam rising from the rim. She slid her hand under his head and raised it carefully, bringing the lip of cup up to his lips. The liquid was bitter, but almost instantly turned sickly sweet the more he drank. He finally pulled his lips away from the cup and she moved her hand.

"Who are you?" He asked after a moment. She looked at him for a moment, debating the question. She placed the cup on a crate and stepped closer to him.

"People call me One." She said simply. The number sounded familiar, and that was only then he realized she was the person who killed Zer0's assassin back on Wam Bam Island. She smirked as soon as Mordecai put two and two together. One turned her attention to Zer0, whose suit was removed and he was left with a sheet draped over his legs and waist. Her hands skimmed over his chest carefully, noting how deep certain wounds were and how much attention they needed in order to heal right.

"You're One?" Mordecai asked when she passed by his cot to go into another room. She walked out and looked at him before nodding her head. She held a syringe in one hand and a vile of pink, swirling, glowing goop. "What are you doing?" Mordecai asked as he sat up abruptly, lunging at her. She moved the vile to her other hand and caught Mordecai by the chest.

"Don't exert yourself. You could do more damage." She said coolly. Mordecai stood there stupidly and watched as she stuck the needle of the syringe into the vile, extracted some of the goop, and slowly pricked the needle into the center of Zer0's chest. The liquid slowly disappeared into the Assassin and his veins started to glow dimly.

"What-"

"Seraph crystals. Very useful when turned into a liquid." She answered before Mordecai could finish his question. He stood their dumb-founded while One carefully sat him back down on his cot. "You need a little more." She said more to herself than Mordecai and disappeared into the room again.

~x~x~x~x~x~

She watched them both sleep, knowing that she would have to leave them in Sanctuary without being seen. Maybe she would tip off the Vault Hunters who were still on Pandora, saying they were somewhere far away from the floating city. She could do that easily, but the problem was getting them there without them waking. Her thoughts were interrupted by stranger's voices outside her hut. She walked noiselessly to the door and peeked through a gap between the jam and the door itself. She could make out a blue Siren, a short muscular man, and a girl with a robotic prosthetic and wild red hair held back in pigtails. One watched as they came closer to her hut, their conversation light.

"Why would they be here?" Salvador asked.

"Because we last heard from them in the Dust, and this is the closest thing their signal came from." Maya said stubbornly.

"Shut up!" Gaige whispered. "Someone inside might attack." One almost laughed.

"Well, I say they aren't here." Salvador said stubbornly. Maya groaned slightly before turning to the short man.

"Look, we need to check everywhere for them. If we don't then..." Maya trailed off, leaving her fear for the worst unspoken.

"Some people are tryin' to sleep, ya know!" One cried out in her best imitation of a Pandoran accent.

"Sorry to bother, but have you seen a guy in dreadlocks or a weirdly tall guy in a black body suit?" Gaige asked quickly.

"No. Now go away!" One answered abruptly.

"Don't need to be rude." Gaige muttered before telling Maya and Salvador that they wouldn't be in that hut. One sighed slightly and walked back to Mordecai and Zer0. They were both still asleep. She removed her gloves and untied the ribbon over her eyes and set them on a crate in the middle of the room. She rolled up her sleeves and sat in an old beaten up chair, her heels kicked up on the crate, her eyes trained to the ceiling. Now was a time to figure out how to draw the others away from Sanctuary.

"That would involve a fire fight." One said and smiled.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Mordecai raised his head and immediately banged it on the metal support bars of one of the many bunk beds in the HQ. He groaned and clasped his forehead, his knees bending up to his chest as he rolled around slightly.

_"Mordecai?" _Zer0's robotic voice sounded from the other side of the room. Mordecai turned his head and saw Zer0 removed his helmet and he looked terrified. It wasn't a shock to Mordecai to see Zer0 without his helmet, but the terror in his face wasn't something he was used to. He was used to the blank slate of a poker face on the Assassin's alien-like face. "Do you know who that girl was?"

"She said she was One." Mordecai said with a slight groan. He rubbed at his forehead as he sat up carefully.

"Wait... she's One?" Zer0 asked in almost hysterics.

"What's wrong?" Mordecai asked. Zer0 didn't say anything, just stood up and ran to the door. Mordecai jumped up and tried to run after him, but the Assassin was too fast. Zer0 made it to the fast travel station before Mordecai could get there and suddenly he was digistructed to wherever his destination was.

_"Mordecai, can you hear me?!" _Lilith screamed into her ECHO, the sounds of bullets whizzing by and grenades going off behind her were almost deafening.

"I'm in Sanctuary. Zer0 was, but he ran off." Mordecai called back.

_"WHAT?! You're not in Thousand Cuts?!" _Lilith yelled.

"No, why would I be?" Mordecai asked in concern.

_"Someone tipped us off saying you and Zer0 were last seen there!" _Lilith replied, a little exasperated. _"We're coming back and you'd better explain what the hell is going on!" _She said before signing off.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"So, let me get this straight. You and Zer0 were blown up by some Hodunks and were knocked unconscious until some strange woman going by the name of One picked you up and patched you good as new?" Lilith asked with disbelief, a hip cocked to the side and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yes." Mordecai said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"How come I don't believe you then?" Lilith asked.

"I am not a child! Quit talking to me like I am one!" Mordecai yelled, his face turning a slight shade of red.

"Then tell the truth!" Lilith shouted back.

"Fine then, we ran away to try and get you guys into a heated battle between some lowlife bandits and get you almost killed because we thought it would be funny. That the answer you wanted?" Mordecai asked, sarcasm dripping through his voice. Lilith scowled and turned away to find an outlet to let her rage out.

"Look Mordy, we checked everywhere in the Dust for you and Zer0, but we didn't find you. We stayed out all night trying to find you when some girl said that you guys were kidnapped and taken to Thousand Cuts. It was our best lead at the time." Maya put gently.

"How 'bout you try out ECHO's next time. It might've helped." Mordecai snapped. Maya jumped back, tears lining her eyes and Mordecai sighed. "Sorry." He muttered.

"It's fine." Maya said shortly. Mordecai stood up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I didn't mean to snap. I'm frustrated." Mordecai admitted. Krieg growled at him from the corner of the room. "Easy big guy, not treading in on your territory." Mordecai said as he stepped back. Maya smiled lightly before turning to Krieg.

_"Sorry to cause friction between you and your friends." _One's voice called out from Mordecai's ECHO. _"Oh, and watch out for Zer0. He's a little upset by my presence." _One said before she signed off.

"Who in the hell are you?" Mordecai muttered before sitting down to wait for Lilith to come back so he could apologize for his behavior, and hopefully accept hers for being condescending.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**_I'm not dead! Anyways, I found a lovely muse to help my creativity flow through and let me tell you, having months of Writer's Block suddenly disappear is an amazing feeling. This is gonna be a series of multiple chapters. Do not worry about my other story (Goodbye's Don't Have To Last Forever), I just need to polish something things and post it. _**


	2. Chapter 2

Lilith came back into the room and sighed heavily. Her hair was singed at the ends and she smelled like smoke. She stood in front of Mordecai before taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for belittling you." She put simply. Mordecai nodded his head in acceptance.

"I'm sorry for being an asshole." Mordecai said.

"No you're not." Lilith said with a smile. Mordecai smiled back. "So, where's Zer0?" She asked with a sweeping glance around the room.

"Have no idea." Mordecai admitted. Lilith hummed before walking away to attend something on the computers.

_"Mordecai, come out to the Dust. I found her." _Zer0's voice sounded from Mordecai's ECHO, stirring the Hunter from the few moments of silence.

"Who?" He asked as he stood up and headed towards the fast travel station.

_"One. I found her." _Zer0 said as is he were just as shocked by his own words as Mordecai was.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"I'm here!" Mordecai said as he jumped out of the Runner, standing in front of the woman who helped him and Zer0 the other day. Every inch of her body was covered, except for her head. Her long, black hair was pulled back into a long, thick braid. A ribbon mask draped across her eyes, obscuring most of her face. She raised an eyebrow and pursed her pale pink lips together.

"Good for you." She remarked. She sat in a lawn chair, her arms crossed her over chest and her upper half in the shade provided by her hut.

"You're One?" Mordecai asked in disbelief, as if the familiar mask and voice weren't proof enough.

"Yep." She said with a flourish to the red 1 on the right side of her chest. "And you must be the elusive marksman, Mordecai." She said as she stood up and extended a gloved hand. Mordecai took it and was shocked at how strong her hand was. "Now, why are you out here?" She asked while sitting back down.

_"What are you doing here?" _Zer0 growled, fists clenched tight and an angry emoji flashed on his mask.

"That's a long story." She said as she rubbed a hand over the back of her neck.

"We've got time." Mordecai said as he leaned against the side of the hut.

"Are you sure you want to talk here?" She asked as she looked around. They could hear bandits talking and jabbing at one another in the distance, along with some of the Hodunks at their race track.

_"Come to Sanctuary then." _Zer0 offered with venom in his tone.

"No." One said simply as she picked up a rock and threw it at Zer0's helmet. It bounced off and back into One's open hand. "If I do, Lilith is just gonna tie me up like she did to Athena and terrorize me until I quote-on-quote snap." She crossed her arm once again and scowled.

"We can stop her before that even happens." Mordecai offered, but One shook her head.

"Won't matter anyways. She won't listen to what I have to say." One said sadly. They stood there for a moment as silence washed over them all. "Besides, you never answered my question." She said to break the silence.

"What do you mean?" Mordecai asked.

"I asked why you were out here. As in, why in the hell are you looking for me?" She asked as she sat up, a leg on either side of the chair.

_"I had to find out why you're being kind enough to offer pity help." _Zer0 said flatly.

"Because you are the worst when it comes to someone who makes a living killing other people." She said with a sly smirk. "You are on a whole new level of bad, it's not even funny. You rush in, carelessly, and you don't care if anyone can see who you're aiming at. I guess that's why-"

_"SHUT IT! I don't want to be reminded." _Zer0 yelled. His fists were clenched at his sides and he was shaking slightly.

"I wouldn't have to bring it up if your ego didn't get in the way." One said lowly, her glaring eyes fixed on Zer0's helmet. "Maybe if you stopped spending so much time on making your body better, you could've been better mentally." One said as she stood up. Zer0 stepped back, poised to strike back at One, but she just stood there.

_"If you're gonna fight-"_

"I'm not. You're so eager to throw up your fists that you don't realize that you could win the same battle easily with your head. But then again, you're helmet is just as thick as your skull, I think you'd use your head in a literal sense." One smirked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

_"Your constant smirking is irritating." _Zer0 tried to jab at One.

"Not as irritating as your weak insults. I would be more offended by a bandit screaming about anything that what you have to offer." One countered. Mordecai watched the two bicker, trying to find a place where he could cut in.

"Knock it off!" Mordecai yelled, clearly done with the arguing. "Let's get some questions answered first before we jump into anything major." Mordecai offered. One's eyes snapped to Mordecai, clearly forgotten he was standing a mere few feet away.

"Sure, why not?" She shrugged as she settled into her chair again.

"Good. Now, how do you know each other?" Mordecai asked as he steppe closer. Both parties stayed quiet. Zer0's body language screamed uncomfortable and looked as if he were ready to run off. One trained her attention to the tips of her boots, smiling faintly at memories that suddenly consumed her.

"We trained together. He was the only one who actually cared about me. We practically grew up together." One said after the stretch of silence almost became unbearable.

_"I was only nice to you because you were getting your ass kicked by everyone else." _Zer0 said quietly.

"I was taught to know when to raise a hand to someone. They told me that if I allowed my powers to consume my mind and being, war could break out sooner." One said calmly. "Dew had to tell me that it was okay to be more powerful than the others, but to know when to back off."

"Well, that's a little more than I expected." Mordecai muttered. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I needed work. After traveling the six galaxies, I needed some money if I wanted to continue on any further. You'll really hate me for saying this, but Jack hired me to be part of his inner circle. He told me who to kill and I would do it." One said with a pained expression. "He told me to kill you when you first set up camp in the Tundra, but I couldn't. Not after seeing how... how your bird loved you and how valuable you were to everyone. It changed my view on Jack." A tear slid down her cheek and her voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

"So, you're stuck here?" Mordecai asked, a little distant after realizing One spared him.

"Pretty much. After you guys destroyed the base, I had nowhere else to go. I don't have enough money to get off this planet and now I'm being told to just stay put." One said after wiping the tear away with her glove.

_"What do you mean you have to stay here?" _Zer0 asked.

"They told me I can't leave yet." One said with a confused shrug. "So I'm staying put until notified otherwise." A comfortable quiet came up and they exchanged various looks between each other before One sighed. "I suppose you want to leave?" One asked as she stood up and straightened her black vest.

"Uh..." Mordecai was a loss for words and turned to Zer0 for something to say.

_"Let us know if you need anything." _Zer0 said as he clapped a hand on One's shoulder.

"Sure thing." One said before pulling him in and whispering something.

_"I'm pretty sure he is." _Zer0 said before both turned their heads to Mordecai.

As they got into the Technical, Mordecai stood up and looked back at Zer0 and raised an eyebrow.

"What was that about?" Mordecai demanded.

_"Just drive." _Zer0 ordered as he laughed a little. One waved goodbye before disappearing into her hut.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"So, you met the girl who kept you hostage and nearly got us killed and you didn't drag her ass back here?" Lilith asked as she crossed her arms and cocked a hip.

"I'm not gonna have this fight." Mordecai said as he started to walk away, but was yanked back by his arm.

"No, you need to answer me. Why didn't you bring her here?" Lilith demanded. Mordecai sighed and turned to her.

"She wasn't a real threat. Also, she said she didn't want to come up here because she was afraid you'd tie her up like you did to Athena." Mordecai said simply.

"Oh please, that weird Guardian thing'll come back and say not to kill her, or something along those lines." Lilith said with a wave of her hand.

"One doesn't trust you." Mordecai nearly yelled. Lilith stood her ground with a glare.

"I don't care that she doesn't trust me. I just want to know why she's doing this." Lilith growled.

"Zer0 can explain then." Mordecai said as he turned away and walked out of the building.

"This isn't over!" Lilith yelled from the balcony. Mordecai shrugged her off and made his way to Moxxi's. He sat down at the bar and ordered a water.

"What's troublin' ya?" Moxxi asked as she leaned against the counter.

"Lilith doesn't listen." Mordecai said as he drank half the glass.

"Tell me something I don't know." Moxxi sighed. "Honey's stubborn and can be a real hard-head." She said as she patted his shoulder.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Weeks passed by before One spoke to Mordecai. He was dozing off in his chair in the HQ, since no one was rushing in and out of the building like every other day. One's voice quietly rang out in the silence, which didn't stir the Hunter. She called out again, a little more forcefully than last, but Mordecai still didn't wake. She cleared her throat and yelled his name, causing Mordecai to fall out of his chair and land face first on the ground.

"Jeez, could've woken me up better." He groaned.

_"I was nice and said your name quietly."_ One sighed. _"Anyways, I need your help."_ She said.

"With what?" Mordecai said as he straightened himself out.

_"I know where I can get some materials to build a shield big enough for Sanctuary, but it's in a bandit camp that's way too big for me to go solo on." _One explained.

"So, you want my help?" Mordecai asked, still trying to shake the sleep out of his mind.

_"Isn't it obvious?" _One asked. _"Anyways, meet me out in the Dust.__" _

~x~x~x~x~x~

**_So, terrible person for not updating sooner. School sucks and I'd rather just write and not worry about planning my future when I don't know what I'm doing half of the time. _**

**_Let me know how I did!_**


	3. Chapter 3

Mordecai stopped outside of One's hut, where she was sitting at a fold-out table with a sniper rifle, a pistol, and a shotgun. Upon closer inspection, the rifle was by Jakobs that was purple in rarity, the pistol was by Maliwan and had an acidic element to it that was on the green spectrum, and the shotgun was by Torgue, surprisingly orange in it's rarity. She was cleaning the rifle with great care when Mordecai cleared his throat to attract her attention.

"Oh hey, you made it." One said with a smile. "I figured you'd take a while." She returned her attention to the rifle.

"What would I be busy doing?" Mordecai asked as he sat opposite of One.

"Talking Lilith out of another temper tantrum. I swear, she's going to be the death of Sanctuary." One said with a shake of her head. Mordecai watched her fingers toy with the barrel with a rag in her palm.

"Where'd you get this?" Mordecai asked as he gestured to the shotgun.

"A present from Torgue himself." One said with a smile. "After working for Jack and escaping to the surface, I found Torgue's business and he gave me a job as part of his security. He said that he like me for how I do my job and that I was more fun than most of his other employees, so he gave me a shotgun of his own design." She ran a hand lovingly over the pristine gun.

"What was it like working for Jack?" Mordecai asked in pure curiosity.

"Honestly, for the first month, everything seemed fine. It wasn't until he made go out and kill people who were deemed a 'threat' to his business. When he made me go after you, I couldn't. I just... left you alone. I said that Bloodwing came after me and I wasn't aware of her, so I inflicted some wounds to make it more believable. He figured out I was lying and he..." One trailed off, her eyes glazing over in thought.

"He what?" Mordecai asked with a raised brow.

"He... it doesn't matter." One said with a shake of her head. "Anyways, let's go get that shield." One stood up and holstered all three guns. Mordecai watched as she jumped into the back of his Technical, wondering just what exactly Jack did to her.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"You weren't lying when you said this isn't a solo job." Mordecai said as he peered down the scope of his rifle. Swarms of bandits and brutes crawled along the rickety structures of what they called their home.

"Why would I?" One muttered beside him, peering down her own rifle.

"How're we doing this?" Mordecai asked as he lowered his gun.

"I'll go to the other side and you stay here or get as close as humanly possible. On my mark, you shoot at who you think would be a major threat to our plan." One said as she shouldered her rifle. She tilted her head slightly and Mordecai nodded his head in response.

"Okay, I guess we'll see how this'll work." Mordecai said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Great. It'll work fine." One said as she patted his shoulder and made her way down the hill and to the other side. How her fingers lingered on his shoulder for a few seconds longer than necessary was nice and a little odd. Mordecai waited until One got to her position and signaled that everything was good. Mordecai sighed and raised his rifle back up to his eye and waited for One to give the motion to fire. After a few minutes, it became clear that this was more than a two-person job. Mordecai sent Talon down, who could only get up to four enemies at a time before he came back to his father.

_"I'm gonna try something, so don't freak out if I don't say anything." _One said over Mordecai's ECHO.

"Uh, go ahead." Mordecai said as a handful of psycho's made their way up the hill. He whipped out his pistol and started popping their heads off, waiting for One to swoop in and take care of them. After taking the last psycho down, it was quiet. Too quiet. Mordecai peered over the edge and saw that every bandit was dead with their blood staining the dirt. One stood in the middle of the carnage with sword in hand. It looked like Zer0's, except the blue was replaced with white.

_"See any that need to be taken care of?" _One asked.

"Uh... no?" Mordecai said as he took a sweeping glance around the area.

_"Great! Now come help me find the shield." _One said.

Mordecai made his way over to One, who was wiping the blood from the blade of her sword on her pants. She sheathed it and started shifting through piles of stolen tech, mostly from Hyperion. Mordecai started searching next to her, not really knowing what to look for. He kept trying to ask how she took care of the bandits in that short amount of time, but she didn't seem to hear or want to give an answer. After what seemed like forever, One called out that she found the shield.

"The good news is that it's salvageable. The bad is that it's taken apart so much, it'll take months before it'll be any use." One sighed as she started gathering the scraps.

"We have someone who could do it." Mordecai said as he started pocketing some of the tech.

"Teen prodigy, Gaige?" One asked with a quirk of her brow.

"Yeah, she could probably get it together before the end of the week." Mordecai said with a smile.

"Why do you talk so highly of the other Vault Hunters?" One asked as she searched the table for excess scraps.

"What do you mean?" Mordecai asked.

"You always say things about the others as if they were family." One said before turning to him. "Sorry if I offend, but I find it odd and adorable." She smiled before make her way up the hill, Mordecai close to her heels.

"We've been through hell and back." Mordecai said as they walked to Mordecai's Technical.

"I can understand." One said as she crawled into the back.

"Really?" Mordecai asked as he started to drive.

"Yeah. Zer0 and I were good friends back on..." She trailed off. "We were good friends on Nirvana. He was the only one who understood what it was like to have your family taken from you and you're all by yourself." A tear slid down her cheek and she looked up to Mordecai staring at her.

"You need a minute?" He asked carefully. She shook her head and sighed.

"Just go." Her voice was quiet and Mordecai obliged after a moment.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Are you sure I should be in here?" One asked as Mordecai lead her up the stairs.

"Everything'll be fine." Mordecai assured her.

"Give it three minutes." One muttered. They unloaded the scraps onto the center table before One turned to leave. Just as she did, she came face to face with Lilith, who was seething.

"What're you doing here?" Lilith demanded. One looked her up and down before taking a step back.

"Mordecai said it was okay." One said as she turned to Mordecai.

"Wait... what?" Lilith asked as she took a step closer to One, who took a step back, only to hit Mordecai.

"Lilith, please don't be mad." Mordecai said, trying to ease the tension.

"Who are you?" Lilith demanded.

"I'm N... One." One stuttered. Her eyes were trained on Lilith's Siren markings.

"You're the one that kidnapped Mordecai and Zer0 and almost got most of my people killed?" Lilith's voice was raising in volume and One felt claustrophobic between the angry Siren and Mordecai.

"I didn't kidnap them." One stuttered again.

"Easy for you to say." Lilith said as she jabbed a finger at One's chest, her markings glowing intensely. One screamed before a powerful nova exploded in the room, sending Lilith and Mordecai flying.

"I did not kidnap them." One growled as the room went quiet. "I was trying to help, and you are being stubborn." Lilith's eyes were bulging in fear as One stepped closer.

"Who the hell are you?" Lilith asked.

"The one person you do not want to piss off." One said before turning to leave. "See ya around, Mordecai." She called over her shoulder. They waited until she was gone before they stood up and started to straighten the room.

"What the hell is she?" Lilith finally asked after the silence became too much to bear.

"I don't know. All I got was she has some sort of powers and that she grew up with Zer0 on a planet called Nirvana." Mordecai said as he sat down with his back to the wall.

"Didn't say anything else?" Lilith asked.

"Other than the fact she hated working for Jack and ended up working for Torgue for a while, no." Mordecai said as he ran a hand over his face.

"She worked for Jack?" Lilith asked, anger flaring up again.

"Yeah, but she said she couldn't take what he was doing. She said she was doing the work for some form of money to make it to the next planet." Mordecai said.

"Why would she stay here?" Lilith asked.

"I don't know, but some outside force is telling her to stay." Mordecai stood up. "I need something to drink. Wanna come along?" Mordecai asked. Lilith shrugged and followed Mordecai out of the building.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Mordecai walked Lilith home and went back to the HQ to look over some chores that needed to be done. Zer0 was standing in the doorway when Mordecai got inside.

_"How was she?" _Zer0 asked casually.

"I've been around two women today, so be a 'lil more specific." Mordecai said as he walked past him to the other room to look at a few monitors.

_"One, obviously." _Zer0 said.

"She's fine. Was a... little emotional." Mordecai said as he thought back to how pained One looked when she talked about her time in Hyperion and when she talked about growing up with Zer0 being her only friend.

_"What do you mean?" _Zer0 asked as he peered over Mordecai's shoulder.

"She told me she was supposed to kill me and didn't and inflicted wounds on herself to make it look like Blood attacked her. She told Jack and he found out she was lying... and she stopped and almost started crying. Then she mentioned how you and her grew up together and you were the only one there who actually understood what it was like to have family being taken away." Mordecai said as he turned to Zer0.

_"That's all she said?" _Zer0 asked in genuine concern. _  
><em>

"Yeah. I asked her about it and she didn't say anything." Mordecai said as he stepped around Zer0 to grab a spare ECHO.

_"Well, when she first showed up to Nirvana, everyone was far more advanced than her. She was constantly beaten up and made fun of because she lacked in certain skills. Our Master, Dew, made me help her since she was so weak. She told me that her whole family and nearly her whole kind was killed. She said she wandered around her home planet, lost. An Eridian Guardian found her and sent her to Nirvana. She never said why the Guardian did send her away." _Zer0 explained. _"Don't tell her I said that." _

"I heard." One said as she stepped into the room.

"What're you doing here?" Mordecai asked.

"Came back to see if I could get an apology from Lilith and apologize myself." One said as she looked around the room. "Where are the others?"

_"Most have left to attend to the other vaults. We stayed behind because some people need guidance in this town." _Zer0 said as he leaned against a wall.

"Interesting." One muttered. "So, I should come back tomorrow, or..." She trailed off.

_"You don't have to leave."_ Zer0 said gently as he laid a careful hand on her shoulder. _"Maybe you can tell us how you've been." _

"I suppose." She sighed playfully before looking up at Mordecai and smiling.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**_So... Christmas is coming up and that means a ton of tests and less time to write. Let me know how I did and what could be changed to make this better. _**


	4. Chapter 4

One sat with her back towards the railing of the balcony while Mordecai and Zer0 leaned against a wall. One looked below her at the people milling around as the afternoon slowly dragged on.

"So, where do you want me to start?" One asked as she pulled her gloves up over her hands more.

_"Explain how we met, so Mordecai isn't so confused." _Zer0 offered after a moment of consideration. Mordecai was about to shoot Zer0 a glare, but knew that he was right.

"Well... it started with my family and nearly my whole race dying out. Our tribes were attacked by numerous invaders of my home planet and our groups were running thin. My father had pushed me into a ditch to hide me and after the slaughter, I couldn't find anyone alive. I went to my home and saw my father's lifeless body on the ground with rope tied around his neck. I was devastated. I wanted blood, but I didn't know who killed my father. I kept searching, but I got nowhere. I broke down crying and that's when they found me." One said before wiping a few tears away.

"Do you need a minute?" Mordecai asked gently. She nodded her head and wiped at her eyes more thoroughly from under her mask. She took a deep breath before plunging on.

"So, where was I?" She asked.

_"They found you." _Zer0 offered.

"Right. An Eridian Guardian found me and started saying that I was an important piece in a war that will happen in the future. He started telling me stories of a woman who lost everything she held dear to her and how she would start to tear apart a city she lifted by hand. Her friends, the people she once called family all left her. He said the only way for me to be that important piece was if I became one of his people. I accepted and more Eridian Guardians came up and I blacked out.

"I woke up in the first Guardian's arms and he was talking to who would be my mentor, Master Dew. He set me down and explained that he was leaving me to Dew, that he was going to teach me how to fend for myself and how I'll survive and with hope, I would become a Number. I wasn't much of a fighter when I was younger. I still believe in the philosophy of knowing to put up your fists and when to walk away." One said before taking a moment to compose her next words.

_"She was constantly harassed by the others. They knew she wouldn't fight them, so they would and it was a continuous event. Every time she passed through the center garden, where most kids take their breaks, they would surround her and take bets on who could take her down the quickest." _Zer0 said with a shake of his head. _"Dew appointed me to watch after her." _

"Yeah, and slowly we became friends. He explained that his family was killed like mine and his mother sent him there to learn how to defend himself." One said with a smile. "After a few years have passed, Zer0 started losing sense of himself. He kept wanting to better himself, and if that meant replacing his body with robotic prosthetics, then so be it. I was ashamed of him, and Dew had to take matters into his own hands. He sent Zer0 out with the red digit on his suit." One said as she pointed at Zer0's number. "Zero to us means nothing. You have nothing to gain and nothing to lose. You are worthless.

"Zer0 was upset, but accepted the number and ran off. I was upset, but more about how he just accepted it and didn't try to prove to Dew that he was better than what he was showing. Anyways, I trained harder and slowly I started gaining respect. It was also around the time I learned of my powers."

"What kind of powers?" Mordecai interrupted. One smiled and took off her glove, exposing a pale hand covered in ink. He could make out a tattoo between her first finger and thumb of a giant red zero.

"I can freeze time by the click of my fingers." She snapped and was suddenly on the other side of the balcony. "Others can be added to my 'bubble', if you wish to call it that. I can see into the future, but only by a single still-frame at a time. I can easily read people's minds if they're making direct eye contact with me, but seeing as both of you have something obstructing your eyes, I can't show you." One said with a grin.

"Well, what do you see in five minutes?" Mordecai asked. One took a moment to think and smirked.

"You'll looked shocked." She said with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, back to the story.

"So, after I graduated with the highest of ranking of the Numbers," She gestured to the One proudly displayed on the right side of her jacket. "I went out to search for jobs and make a living as an assassin. I did little odd jobs around the six galaxies, that is until I found Elpis. It was a little pit stop for me; I was just in Concordia to get a drink and take a minute to breathe. Some goons started harassing me, I told them to go away, one broke the bottom of his bottle and threatened me with the broken shards. I warned him not to, he swung at me, I swung my sword at his throat and his goons came at me all at once. Needless to say, I won.

"Jack was there and saw interest in me as a paid assassin. He offered me a job by saying, 'I can pay you whatever number flashed in your head'. I accepted and for two years, I worked for him. One day, he made me go out in hopes that I would kill Mordecai, but instead, I made it look as if Bloodwing attacked me and I wasn't counting on it. Jack found I was lying and... did something about it. I realized how truly evil he was and I decided to get out. I made my way down to Pandora and just lived among the bandits and psychos." One said.

"Out in the Dust?" Mordecai asked. One nodded her head and Mordecai looked shocked. "How come we've never noticed?"

"Because I'm just that good?" One said with a raise of her brow. "Also, this was the moment I was talking about." Mordecai took a second to remember and just looked on in shock. "Or was it this one? I can't really tell." One shook her head.

_"Please, continue." _Zer0 urged after they all fell silent.

"Right. So, I watched all the new Vault Hunters make their way through life on Pandora, to try and take down Jack, and get the Vault Key back. It was fun to see Zer0 again and laugh at some of his mistakes."

_"Like what?" _Zer0 sassed.

"You falling for a certain red-head with a robotic arm." One said with a smile. Zer0 went rigid for a moment before One dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Well, you're gonna be more pissed off when I tell you, you Vault Hunters didn't really kill Jack." One said as she calmed down.

"WHAT?" Mordecai yelled in disbelief and horror.

"Well, after 'Jack's' monologue, something was off. I knew he wouldn't go down without a fight, so ending on a monologue was out character for him. I went up to Helios and saw him cowering in his office. I confronted him, he whined about how you had the key and that you were going to conquer all of the new vaults, and such, but I had enough. I shot him once in the leg, let him wither a little, shot him in the arm and let him cry. I was just gonna leave him there, but I had enough and shot him in his cold, little heart. I kept his mask." One said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I wish you all had the finally kill, but..." She trailed off.

"You made him suffer?" Mordecai asked after a moment.

"Of course. After seeing what he put you all through, I wouldn't off him so easily." One said with a grin. All three stood silent, all at a loss for words. Wind was whipping One's hair around her face, the voices of the many citizens of Sanctuary were carrying out from below, and One didn't make a move to continue her story.

_"So, you just lived among the bandits this whole time?" _Zer0 asked.

"Where else was I supposed to go? I was afraid of Lilith because of what she can do." One shrugged. "I heard you were going to be killed by 'assassins'," One gave heavy sarcasm to the word assassin. "I went and just killed yours, Zer0. I didn't want you to die, so I killed your assassin."

_"You impaled him." _Zer0 said flatly.

"I thought it was funny..." One muttered with her arms crossed. Mordecai laughed silently and One started to join in. One looked out towards the rising sun. "I'd better go." One said as she started making her way to the door. She stopped short and turned to Zer0 before patting his upper arm and smiling at Mordecai over her shoulder. Mordecai smiled back and she turned towards the stairs.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Why do you insist that she's a good person? She nearly blew us up!" Lilith yelled at Mordecai, who was leaning back in his chair. He groaned as he rubbed at his face.

"You weren't exactly the definition of friendly." Mordecai said as he met Lilith's gaze. "She came by to try and say she was sorry for how she reacted and was hoping she'd get an apology from you."

"Well, she'll be waiting till her deathbed. I did nothing wrong." Lilith stated firmly.

"You started yelling at her and accused her of kidnapping me and Zer0. How do you think she would've reacted?" Mordecai asked.

"Maybe she would've left and never come back?" Lilith said with a huff.

"Wow... fuck you too." One said from the doorway.

"I swear to-"

"There's no one up there to swear to." One said as she walked closer. Lilith's scowl grew deeper and the markings on her arm was starting to glow.

"What do you want?" Lilith gritted through her teeth.

"I was hoping you were going to apologize for how you acted towards me. I was also going to say I was sorry for how I reacted." One said as she extended a hand. Lilith stared at her hand with disgust before crossing her arms tighter. Without blinking, One removed both of her gloves and extended her hand once again. The red zero between her thumb and first finger was more prominent. Lilith grasped One's hand gently. "I'm sorry for how I reacted." One said sincerely. "I hope we can put this all behind us."

"Sure. Why not give the weird stranger another chance?" Lilith snarked as she pulled her hand back. One's good nature look suddenly turned to one filled with hatred.

"What is your problem with me?" One asked in confusion.

"You held Mordecai and Zer0 without saying where they were and when you did bring them back, you nearly had me killed! Then, you turn around and start saying how good of a person you are and that you don't want to hurt anyone, but you worked for Jack! How can anyone say that when they worked for the biggest dick on the planet?!" Lilith's face was red and her markings were glowing intensely. One took a step back and just stared at Lilith.

"I needed money. There's nothing out here for me to do. I'm stuck here and I'm trying to do my best to survive. Do you think I like living so close to bandits unprotected? I don't and I'd rather be up here where I don't have to worry about that, but no. I'm stuck in the middle of the Dust with no other outside contact other than Zer0 and Mordecai." One said as she started to close the gap between her and Lilith.

"So you decided to work for Jack to get money?" Lilith asked in disbelief.

"He told me how you interrupted his vision once he came upon the Vault and how you branded the symbol into his face. He told me how you, Roland, and Moxxi all betrayed him because of how many times he has dabbled into the moral grey areas. I get that some of the things he did was wrong, but don't you realize how things could've been if you let him see the vision to the end? Where he saw that he would die if he kept being greedy and slowly turning to the darker side? Maybe Roland wouldn't be dead. Maybe Bloodwing wouldn't have died. Maybe, just maybe, countless numbers of lives could've been saved if you just saw his plans all the way through."

"How do you know, sweetheart?" Lilith asked as she stepped closer.

"I can see the future. I saw what could've been, and let me tell you, Pandora would be a little more bearable if you, Roland, and Moxxi just went through it all. There were a few downsides, where Jack was a little less bearable and less charismatic, but things would be a lot better." One tried to plea.

"I doubt it." Lilith said as she shoved One back. One regained her balance and snapped her fingers. Without warning, Lilith was on her face, knocked out and bleeding from her nose with One standing over her with bruising knuckles.

"I was seriously hoping this wasn't how things were going to turn out." One muttered. Mordecai was already kneeling in front of Lilith, trying to get her to come to.

"What are you talking about?" Mordecai demanded as he patted Lilith's cheek.

"You know that story the Guardian told me? The one with the woman that lost everyone near and dear to her?" She asked rhetorically. She looked down at Lilith and back at Mordecai, who just looked up at One with shock.

"You're saying..."

"Yeah. Lilith's the woman." One said sadly. "I didn't want it to turn out like this."

"What happens now?" Mordecai asked as he watch Lilith's eyes flutter open for a second and her lips move slightly, as if she were trying to say something.

"Let everything run as it's supposed to." One said simply and with that, she was gone.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**_So... let me know how this tickles your fancy. This won't be five chapters, which seems to be about my average for these long stories. I'm seriously thinking it's gonna run into the mid-teens. And if I make the chapters longer, I would have to be more descriptive and I suck at trying to make novel-like stories with long chapters. _**


	5. Chapter 5

Lilith wanted One's blood. She had enough of Mordecai and Zer0 trying to rationalize with her and decided to go out in search of One. No one had heard from Lilith for quite some time and were starting to worry. Zer0 went out to look for Lilith and Mordecai stayed back to see if he can track One down with his ECHO to tell her to watch out and get out of wherever she was if Lilith was near. Gaige walked in just in time to see Zer0 head out. He took a look at her for a moment, flashed a smiling emoji and left. She blushed and went to the scraps for the shield to keep herself busy.

"How goes the search?" Gaige asked Mordecai as she grabbed a screwdriver from her toolbox.

"Haven't gotten anything yet." Mordecai muttered as he kept searching. Gaige hummed as she started putting pieces together.

"Who's this One person, anyways?" Gaige asked out of nowhere. "No one's said anything to me, so I'm just gonna assume that I should worry, but ya know I'm gonna anyways."

"She's the one that killed Zer0's assassin when we went to Wam Bam. She also knew him before he became an assassin." Mordecai said as he threw his ECHO to the side in frustration. Gaige looked over in concern and gave a weak smile. Mordecai smirked back and sat heavily in his chair.

"Did she say what it was like to train next to Zer0?" Gaige asked as she started to bolting different pieces to the core of the shield.

"Not in detail. Why don't you ask Zer0 when he comes back?" Mordecai teased. Gaige's cheeks burned a little brighter and she hunched over the metal scraps. The room went quiet, except for the ratchet in Gaige's hands tightening several bolts.

_"Do you mind if I hide in plain sight?" _One's voice rang out from Mordecai's ECHO lying across the room. Mordecai reached behind him and grabbed the ECHO.

"Uh, sure?" He said as he tried to stop his trembling hands. He was terrified that Lilith would be right back in the room as soon as she caught wind of One being there.

"Thanks." One said behind him. Both he and Gaige jumped as One giggled slightly. "Sorry, but I've been hiding out at Moxxi's for the past few hours. You can only take so many of her innuendos before you want to shoot your foot." One said as she plopped down on one of the wall desks. She looked over at Gaige and gave a small wave.

"So, you're One?" Gaige asked in interest as she flipped over the core and started wrestling with the wires. One nodded her head and smiled.

"You're Gaige, right?" She asked. Gaige nodded her head back and One removed both of her gloves and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you." She said with a grin as Gaige grasped her hand. Gaige grinned back and stared at the red zero on One's hand.

"What's with the number?" She asked as she went back to the wires.

"To remind me of who Zer0 is now." One said with a sad smile. "I've got more ink." She said as she rolled up her sleeves. There was a goddess of sorts on her forearm on her right arm, her hair an ombre of colors with her eyes closed and a sweet smile on her pretty pink lips. On her left arm was stitching around her wrist, and the phrase "They May Be Your Open Wounds, But They're My Sutures" just above it in scratchy writing. More disappeared underneath her sleeves before she rolled them down again.

"What does the phrase mean?" Mordecai asked as he peered closer at One.

"I knew this girl, was with her for a while, but she kept wallowing in self-pity. I kept telling her to just look at the bright side, make the best out of a bad situation, all that. Well, she kept saying how I don't know about her open wounds and her sorrow, so I just turned to her and said they may be your open wounds, but they're my sutures. I left her after that. Couldn't deal with how low she was." One said as if she were remarking an old friend who she hasn't seen in forever.

"You were with a girl?" Gaige asked, clearly shocked.

"Yeah. She was pretty, but she was such a downer." One sighed. "Anyways, hows that shield coming along?" She asked as she turned her attention to Gaige. Mordecai watched both girls work on the shield core when Zer0 came bounding up the stairs before stopping short.

_"Lilith's on her way back." _Zer0 warned. One looked up with slight fear in her eyes before walking out onto the balcony and jumping to the roofs. A moment later Lilith walked in, her eyes scanning every inch of the room.

"Did you find her, Mordy?" Lilith asked.

"No, I did not." Mordecai said with a blank expression.

"I think you're lying." Lilith prodded as she walked closer to Mordecai.

"Back off." Mordecai said as he took a step back.

"You know where she is." Lilith said as anger started rising in her voice.

"I said no, now knock it off." Mordecai said, anger of his own rising up.

"Guys, please don't fight." Gaige said as she stood between the two. "I'm sure she won't bother anyone for a while, so please cool off." Gaige pleaded. Lilith shoved Gaige away to get at Mordecai, only for her to tumble over with Lilith's hand print branded into her shirt.

"Knock it off!" Mordecai yelled as he grabbed Lilith's hand. Lilith pulled her hand away sharply and glared at Mordecai. He turned to Gaige and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up, dusting off her shirt and skirt.

"Thanks." She muttered as she walked downstairs, away from the fight and tension. Zer0 looked between Lilith and Mordecai before walking after Gaige.

"Where is she?" Lilith asked with venom.

"Drop it, Lil'." Mordecai warned.

"No, I want to know." Lilith said as she grabbed at Mordecai's shirt. He tried to push her away, but her grip was stronger than his.

"Get off!" He yelled. Lilith's eyes looked like flames, her markings glowing with such intensity that heat was radiating off of her, and her voice was low and menacing.

"You better start workin' with me here, Mordy. I want to know where One is so I can end this stupid thing she started." Lilith growled. Suddenly, Lilith was stopped and looked as if she were frozen into place. One was standing next to Mordy, prying Lilith's fingers away from his shirt carefully and nudged Mordecai away from her.

"Come with me. You know it's better to leave than be beaten down by her." One muttered. Mordecai took a moment before nodding and letting One take his hand. After they walked to Pierce Station, One snapped her fingers and everyone resumed their daily routine while Lilith yelled from the HQ. One tugged Mordecai to the Fast-Travel Station and plugged in the coordinates to the Dust.

~x~x~x~x~x~

One offered a glass of water and listened to Mordecai rant and rave about how out of control Lilith had become. One sat in front of Mordecai on the floor, playing with the sand. After he was done, Mordecai leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. There wasn't much furniture: A single arm chair covered in dust and grime, a bed in the corner with blankets that had more holes than fabric, and an excessive amount of crates and chests scattered about.

"You know, people don't really change. Sure we grow, but we're just adding to what's already there. We're still the same underneath, and we try to hide it and say we've changed." One said as she patted Mordecai's knee and offering a small smile.

"I find that hard to believe." Mordecai said with a shake of his head.

"You're a sarcastic asshole, right?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"You were still a sarcastic asshole then, right?" She asked, same expression planted on her face. Mordecai just stared at her before sighing.

"Yeah..." He muttered. She stood up and patted his shoulder and grabbed the empty glass from his hands. He watched as One poured more water and walked back over. She handed the glass over and sat back down in front of him, her chin resting on her folded hands.

"Is that all that's bothering you?" One asked as she looked up at him through her lashes.

"I don't want to be at war with her, I want her before she found out how to use that stupid Eridium shit." Mordecai said as he rubbed his face. One placed a hand on his knee and smiled in comfort.

"It's the way it has to be. There's no safe way to turn it around." One said sadly. Mordecai shrugged and stared at her. She stood up and seemed to loom over him before reaching a hand out, placing a careful hand under his chin and bringing his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet and chaste and left him a little breathless. "Everything will turn out okay in the end. I know for a fact." She said with a grin. He just stared at her, wondering what the kiss was about.

"Uh..." He was about to say something but One put a finger to her lips.

"Don't think too hard about it." She said. "I'm going to find an extra bed for you." She said before making her way out of her small hut. Mordecai just sat there, really wanting One to explain herself.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**_OOOOH! What's gonna happen next?! I don't know... but I should. _**

**_If there's anything you think needs to be added, don't hesitate to let me know. _**

**_Also, Happy Holidays, or if you don't celebrate anything, have a fantastic break!_**


	6. Chapter 6

One returned with a cot in hand, balancing several blankets and a pillow in the crooks of her arms. Mordecai watched from his chair as she set up the bed on the other side of the small hut. He walked closer and One smiled as she started grasping for the pillow.

"So, what was the kiss about?" Mordecai asked as he helped lay blankets out on the cot.

"My people use kissing as a form of trust and reassurance. We kiss mutuals as a way of saying that everything's okay and that you can trust our word." She said simply as she smoothed out the pillow.

"You keep referring to your race as your 'people', but where do you come from?" He asked as he sat down.

"I'm from an alien race known as Araknees. We lived on the planet Nirvana, but outsiders came in and started to take over. Most of us left, but the majority stayed, like my family did." She said, her face growing distant.

"I thought they died out." Mordecai asked as he turned his head towards her.

"No, we almost did because of how valuable people see our bodies as. People use our natural born abilities to better themselves, when all they're doing is slowly killing themselves." One said as she made her way to her own bed. "Let me know if you need anything." Mordecai nodded and watched her unzip her boots, pulling her gloves off of her hands, and turn her back to Mordecai and removing her ribbon masked.

"Night." Mordecai called as she laid down.

"Good night." She murmured over her shoulder before trying to stifle a yawn. Mordecai just stared at One, watching as her breathing slowed down so much it looked as she just silently passed away, but he knew that wasn't the case. Something about her was... comforting. Like coming home after a long day. He laid down and closed his eyes, dreaming of what she actually looks like away from Pandora.

~x~x~x~x~x~

"Mordy, get up." She said gently as she prodded at his shoulder. He opened his eyes and realized he slept in his goggles and they were know sideways on his head at an odd angle.

"What's going on?" He asked as he stretched and yawned.

"We need to figure out what our next move is." She said, but a hint of I-already-know-what-to-do was pretty evident.

"And what would that be?" He asked as he fixed his goggles to sit on top of his head.

"We need to figure out how to stop Lilith from becoming another Handsome Jack." One said as she sat at the foot of his cot. Mordecai motioned for One to continue as he sat up. "We need to get the Vault Hunters and the Vault Key away from her, open three specific Vaults in order, causing the smaller ones to close forever and we can destroy the Key. By doing this, we're stopping Lilith from rising to complete power, preventing others to go mad, and we'll be marked as the greatest Vault Hunters to have ever existed." One explained.

"Why?" Mordecai asked.

"Lilith would be forgotten in the history of what's happened. She'll be a footnote, saying she gave some trouble, but we all pushed through it." One said with earnest.

Why the Key, though? Can't we just stop her by locking her up or somethin'?" Mordecai raised an eyebrow.

"She could get some many people on her side, just like Jack did. She has a theory that the Guardians and Sirens are connect, and she's right. By connecting some dots, she figured out that she's the only one who can use the Vault Key, since she's a Siren. What she doesn't realize is that Maya can and I can too. I'm pretty sure in the state she's in, she would take Maya out without a hint of hesitation." One said sadly. "Besides, she can get out of anything. I don't have any of the technology that Jack had."

"How're we gonna do this, then?" Mordecai threw his blankets back and started lacing his boots up.

"First, you go in, say you needed a moment to breathe before things got way out of hand. You then wait for the right moment to take the Vault Key and hide it so I can get to it without being noticed. Then, you run." She said as she ticked off the events on her fingers. "Then we'll move on to getting the others away from her."

"Why can't ya just snap your fingers and grab the key?" Mordecai asked.

"Because she would suspect you to work with me. This way, she thinks I took the key without anybody noticing, you aren't at fault, and no one dies immediately." She reassured. "Plus, you're more welcomed there than me. I went back to Sanctuary to see if I could just take it, but people were on the look-out for me. She told them I was still working for Hyperion and was looking to be the next in line to dictate Pandora."

"That sounds about right." Mordecai muttered. She smiled weakly before standing up.

"We'll start in a few hours." She said. "I'm gonna go grab some extra supplies: food, ammo, stuff like that."

"I'm not staying here all morning then." Mordecai said as he ran to the door with One smiling at him.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Mordecai sat on one of the couches, listening to Lilith mutter about how she's gonna find One and end the feud. His palms were sweating with nerves and he felt a little too warm. He was waiting for the right moment to spring up and take the Key, but Lilith wasn't budging from the other room. Gaige came waltzing in, a little nervous to be in the same building as Lilith.

"Hey Mordy, what's up?" She asked as she stood in front of him, hitting the toes of his shoes with her own.

"Nothing. You?" He asked. She shrugged and made a quick motion to look at Lilith and back at Mordy.

"Could be better." She said as she plopped down next to him. "Man, me and Maya went to clear out that stupid bandit camp that sprang up at Three Horns Valley, and I seriously need a drink." She rubbed her face and looked over at him.

"I would go, but I think I'll stay back."

"Why? Too tempting?" She asked in wonder.

"Something like that." He said as he peered back at Lilith.

"What're you actually doing?" She asked as she crossed her arms. Mordecai looked back at Lilith and leaned in close to Gaige.

"One's planning on taking the Vault Key. I just need Lilith to get out of that room so I can get it and hide it for One." Mordecai muttered and went to explaining One's plan.

"Do you think I could come with you?" Gaige asked in a low hush.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. She did say she wanted to get us on her side." Mordecai assured her. Gaige got a bright look on her face.

"I have an idea. Just go with it, okay?" She asked. He nodded his head, feeling as if he didn't really have a choice. Gaige ran out of the building and was gone for a good ten minutes before she came bounding up the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Mordecai asked.

"Saw One. She's at Moxxi's." Gaige said with a gasp. Lilith snapped her head up and ran out of the building. Mordecai took no time in getting to the Key and unlocking it from it's bubble-like case. He held the key for a moment, thinking of somewhere to hide it when Gaige grabbed it and ran outside and hid it in a pile of cardboard boxes in the dumpster in the alleyway.

"Nice." Mordecai said approvingly. They both walked back to the couch, Gaige pacing the floor with Mordecai looking concerned.

"She must've left." Lilith growled. "Did she come back here?" Both Gaige and Mordecai shook their heads. Lilith walked into the other room and almost immediately came back.

"What?" Mordecai and Gaige chimed in at the same time.

"Where's the Key?" She asked calmly, but rage was boiling beneath the surface. Both looked at each other and leaned over to look and faked horror as they saw the key gone.

"She must've used her powers to take it." Mordecai said lamely.

"She's going too far, then." Lilith growled.

"We'll go search for her then." Gaige said as she started making her way to the stairs. "Come on, Mordy." She motioned, but Lilith stopped them.

"Wait, you two were in the building. She knows Mordy." She pointed an accusing finger at the both of them. "You must've let her take the Key, made it look like she took it from underneath all of us, and then you were gonna join her. Well, that ain't happen' now." Lilith said as her eyes and markings started to glow. Mordecai and Gaige hit the ground as soon as a bolt of energy flew past them. They both made a go to run down the stairs, but Gaige was held back. The flames licking at Lilith's hands were burning Gaige's shirt and skin.

"Let go of me!" Gaige yelled as she started swinging her arms and legs at Lilith, but she wasn't making contact.

"No, I wanna see if this'll draw One out of her hiding spot." Lilith growled.

"Let her go!" Mordecai yelled, rushing at Lilith, but she pushed him out of the way.

"Why would you care? She's expendable, just like everyone else here." Lilith growled. Gaige's breath hitched in her throat and tears started pooling in her eyes. One was standing right in front of her as soon as the last word spilled from Lilith's mouth.

"I'm here, now let her go." One said as she pointed the tip of her sword at Lilith's face. Lilith dropped her arm and One ushered Gaige to Mordecai with a gentle touch. "Take her back to the hut. I'll be there soon."

"Not if I get there first." Lilith said as she started to tail Mordecai and Gaige. One shot her sword out, blocking Lilith's way.

"No, this is between you and me right now. I want to keep it that way." She said as she pushed Lilith back to stand in front of One again. They both watched Gaige and Mordecai make their way down the stairs and out of the building.

"Fine then." Lilith said as she raised her marked hand, ready to inflict the most damage when One moved her arm and made a thin slash going from the corner of Lilith's eye to the bottom of her chin. Lilith stumbled backwards and grasped at her bleeding face. One stood there, sword pointed to the floorboards, a single drop of blood on the tip of the blade.

"So quick to raise your fists and land the first blow." One tutted. "You should know better than that."

"I'm going to end you because of this." Lilith growled as she lunged at One, who snapped her fingers and was on the other side of the room. "Stop that!" She yelled.

"I won't use my powers if you don't use yours." One offered rhetorically, sword poised to take more of the Siren's blood.

"Then I guess we'll get nowhere then?" Lilith said as she raised her hand again. One shook her head.

"See ya another time." One said as she snapped her fingers and was gone.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Gaige was shaking with tears sliding down her cheeks. She clung to One as if she were going to float away and sobbed. One ran her hand up and down Gaige's back, muttering comfort to her.

"I-I could've died. S-she could've k-killed me." Gaige sobbed. "I-I thought w-w-we were all friends."

"She's not the same person now." One said gravely. She pressed a soft kiss to the part in Gaige's hair and held her closer. Mordecai watched from across the room, astonished at how motherly One was. "She's not gonna change."

"I-I-I don't know w-w-what to do!" Gaige wailed as her fists clung to One's shirt. One felt tears of her own sting her eyes as she held the weeping Mechromancer closer.

"Just calm down, okay? I don't want you getting sick." One muttered, running her hand through Gaige's hair. Only a few moments later, Gaige was calmer and looked as if she were ready to pass out. One shifted so she was bent over Gaige's now sleeping form, covering her with a blanket and sighing. "Guess I'm sleeping in the chair tonight." One said, slightly amused.

"Take mine then." Mordecai offered. One shook her head.

"I only need four hours of sleep anyways." One said as she walked out of the hut and sat down in a lawn chair that's seen better days. She looked worn, conflicted, not the usual confident, stone-cold person she portrayed.

"Everything okay?" Mordecai asked as he watched her run a hand over her hair.

"What if I messed everything up?" One asked in a daze, her hands starting to play with her thick, braided hair. "What if I just ruined everything? What if this causes everyone to get killed?" Her teeth were now worrying her lower lip and her hands were squeezing the braid. Mordecai sighed and grabbed at her hands.

"Everything's gonna be fine. You didn't mess anything up." Mordecai assured her.

"How do you know?" She asked, tears threatening to spill. "I'm not looking to be a hero. No one is here. I just want to do what's best." Mordecai felt an uncomfortable pang of pity for One in the put of his heart.

"We'll all figure something out. Besides, we got what we initially set out to get. We'll go from there." Mordecai assured.

"I'm scared, though." One said as she looked up at Mordecai, fear clear in her eyes. Mordecai grabbed her hands and pulled her from the chair and held her close.

"Everything will work out. I'm sure of it." He assured once again. One nodded against his chest, wrapping her arms firmly around his shoulders.

_"Am I interrupting?" _Zer0 asked. One whipped around and nearly knocked Mordecai down.

"Everything's fine." One said, clearly trying to keep her cool. "What're you doing here?"

_"Heard what happened with Lilith. Decided to come check on you all, especially Gaige." _Zer0 said after taking the scene in. He started looking around the two, hopping to see the young red-head come bounding over to him.

"She fell asleep inside." One said as she ushered him in her hut. She came back out and gave a small smile to Mordecai. "It's like she knew he was out here."

"She always does." He said after a moment. One took a step closer and clung to Mordecai once again while Mordecai flung his arms out in shock.

"Are you sure everything'll be okay?" One asked, back to her distressed state.

"Y-yeah." Mordecai stuttered. One sighed before bringing her head up and letting her lips graze Mordecai's before she smiled a little.

"Just to be sure." She said.

"Can we do that again?" Mordecai asked without thinking. One laughed and shook her head before grabbing at the back of his head and pressing her lips to his, more firm than the last time.

"Just to be extra sure?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Sure." Mordecai shrugged.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Zer0's on our side. We'll just have to see where we have to go from here." One said, more confident than before. She turned to Mordecai and patted his arm before walking back inside.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**_Is a romance blooming between Mordecai and One, or is she just oblivious? More likely oblivious than anything, really. _**

**_Let me know if ANYTHING doesn't make sense. It may be explained in a future chapter, or I'll have to go back and fix it. _**

**_Also, let me know what you think so far and if you think something a little extra could be added. _**


End file.
